It was about half past two when the blizzards started in Truro which, up until that point had seen a fairly mild and almost sunny day. We had been getting reports of heavy snow in Penzance, Camborne, Hayle and Redruth but I never really believed that it would get to the state that it did as although it was pretty chilly, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky and all seemed well. But when it became clear that we were going to be in for a heavy snow storm it was bail out time and quick! My drive home was a very nasty affair as the whole sky went very dark and gloomy grey clouds set in with the snow pelting my windscreen all the way. The single lane of cars on the dual carriageway (apart from the odd wanker) were travelling at around 20 – 30 miles an hour and every time I had to break it felt as if I was going to slide into the central reservation or the guy in front of me.
Coming off at Camborne I made a critical error. The route I should have taken was to head towards town and take the left at the fire station. Unfortunately (as the finish line was in sight) I took the normal route which has a very very steep hill to descend. The taxi driver who almost hit me coming up the hill was snaking all over the road, the guy in front of me slid into a wall and the poor woman on the moped came off three times on her way down. I lost control of my car twice and had to use the pavement to guide my wheels to the bottom. Not the best car journey of my life, but when I was tucked up warm at home I started to enjoy my early finish to the day followed by the next day off to due to the snow. Worst we’ve had it for eighteen years apparently…
Training has been excellent recently and I couldn’t be happier with the way things have been going. On the 19th March I will be representing Camborne (and England!) in the EMTF World Championships in Rotterdam which I think about at least once every minute. We are getting the ferry over which is fantastic as my fellow team mates don’t have to suffer my constant whinging due to my hatred of flying and also means I will have my car with me in Holland to burn around in. I have entered points fighting and forms, but won’t know which of the Pyung Ahn Hyung I will be allowed to perform due to the difference between affiliations. Hopefully Pyung Ahn Sa Dan. It’s quite strange really as I know that when the time comes I will be absolutely dreading it, but recently the amount of drive I have for competing has been insane. I have been waiting for the next opportunity to compete whether it be locally, nationally (or as it transpires internationally!) for ages now and despite the almost impossible odds stacked against me due to the level of competition I face, I am certainly not going to go to Rotterdam just to make up the numbers.
As an added bonus, next weekend (14th) three of us are also travelling up to *can’t remember off the top of my head* for a four hour seminar with Master Kumar to train for the Rotterdam Championships. We also have the priviledge of actually staying in Master Kumar’s guest room!
I have been taking a huge amount of positives home with me regarding my sparring. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not winning any more fights than I usually do but I just feel a lot more consistent than I used to. Before I would have good sessions and some bad, but now it feels that I am consistently keeping my standards to a level which I am happy with, scoring points a lot more frequently and actually trying to win fights as opposed to trying to keep the amount of points I loose by down to a minimum. This is partially affected by my ongoing up/down mindset, but right now – all is good.
The new kickboxing classes have become a lot more varied due to the expansion of techniques that are currently being taught (soon we will surely become full bore MMA!!) which has led to lessons ranging from point stop sparring to takedowns, new one step and self defence and pretty much anything related to the martial arts (excluding forms). On the 20th we will all be taking our first Kickboxing grading which should be fun and also (providing I pass) a little strange as it would mean wearing my old yellow belt again, which is currently hanging proudly on my wall with its certificate. It has already seen copious litres of sweat strained through it and looks a little on the worn side. Wearing it again will be great! This actually comes as a very nice distraction from the nerves of the Rotterdam trip and also the day when spring might move into summer….. which we are not thinking about.
